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Published: July 19th 2015
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There. Was. SUN!
Today I headed out to the National Park to hike the Gap of Dunloe. Oh boy, was it the perfect day for it - the colours were pristine with the sunlight.
For some reason I got stuck doing the tour backwards - not the end of the world, but a pain time wise because we were late leaving, and I was on the last boat out, and it's supposed to take 2.5hrs to hike the Gap and so I basically had 2.75hrs to make it back for the bus. Considering how many pictures I take... I was concerned about the time lol.
Anyway, the bus/boat driver was a hoot. He looked a lot like Hugh Bonneville so that's pretty much all I could think of during the time with him. The tour started at Ross Castle where we only had about 10 minutes; I spent my time watching the swans and ducks. From there we did the boat tour which was probably my favourite part of the day just because of the scenery. There are three interconnected lakes in the area, and we passed through the three.
Our guide was such a jokester. When
we passed this really small island he asked if any of us were American and then told us he always tells the Americans that's where Mickey Mouse was born and a good chunk believe him. Brilliant.
At one point we had to get out of the boat and walk along the bank because there are small rapids... and two of the guys on the boat have to pull it up through that section haha. Meanwhile the rest of us are on the side taking pictures. We're helpful.
The walk itself was ok... I didn't find it had the 'wow factor' everyone was saying... I think it's because I was comparing it to my time in Glendalough which I know I shouldn't, but I still was. Because I was doing the hike "backwards" the first section was pretty boring and a continuous climb... which was unfortunate in the sun and no shade lol.
At the top of the Gap it was a nice view. I didn't stay too long because I knew I had a time crunch. Walking back down into the Gap was ok as well. Once it levelled off and there were little lakes and streams
I found it a lot more interesting to see. I think had I started at the usual spot, I would have enjoyed it a bit more. There were also a lot of sheep at that point which made me happy. Give me animals, and I'm set. I got a brilliant shot of some sheep that happened to make it onto the roadway. Silly sheep.
(A sad note of how much I love seeing sheep. The first group I saw, I thought to myself: MY SHEEPLE! ... yes... my sheeple.)
So, I made it back to the end of the Gap at 3:55... bus was supposed to be at 4:00. But then we were told to take the second shuttle at 4:10. Fine. But then it was overbooked or I don't quite know what the problem was, but basically there was a smack down between the driver having to deal with this angry German mom about the bookings and these American girls who were just so angry to have to wait another 10-15min for an extra bus even though they didn't have pre-booked tickets (riiiiight) ... so we didn't actual leave until 4:30. After all that!
Back in
Killarney I just had some more fish n' chips. Not as good as Cork, but still hit the spot, with a Guinness to boot. A very lovely day.
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